This week marked the retirement of Freda Wolfson, who served as the Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court for New Jersey for 36 years. In light of her retirement, she has decided to join Lowenstein Sandler, a national law firm founded in New Jersey. As part of her new firm role, Wolfson will lead the Alternative Dispute Resolution Group, handling commercial litigation matters and taking on special master appointments in multidistrict litigations.
Wolfson was nominated to serve as a U.S. magistrate judge in 2002, and she eventually became Chief Judge of the New Jersey District Court in 2019. Before her role at the District Court, Wolfson practiced law for Lowenstein Sandler.
Lowenstein Sandler is a national firm with about 350 lawyers and has recently welcomed former New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Barry Albin as head of their Appellate Group. Wolfson expressed great pride in her past service, as stated in her statement on Wednesday, where she further highlighted that Lowenstein Sandler shares her commitment to the public good.
In the years Wolfson spent on the bench, she was in charge of six different federal multidistrict litigations, including thousands of lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder and talc products claiming they caused cancer. In total, over 37,000 talc-related lawsuits were pending before Wolfson, making it the second-largest federal assigned mass tort in U.S. history.
On Monday of this week, a federal appeals court denied Johnson & Johnson’s petition to transfer these cases into bankruptcy court. It dismissed a related Chapter 11 case created for such purpose. Currently, Lowenstein Sandler’s litigation department is headed by the former New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Porrino, who formerly clerked for Wolfson thirty years ago.
In his statement on the matter, Porrino discussed Wolfson’s notable career accomplishments, such as being one of the youngest members of the District Court at the time and one of the very few women and mothers. During Wolfson’s tenure, Porrino highlighted the difficult times she handled, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, judicial vacancies, and security threats. One of these security threats was an attack on her colleague Judge Esther Salas’ family by a disgruntled lawyer.
Freda Wolfson’s commitment to public service is commendable, and with her return to the firm, Lowenstein Sandler will surely benefit from her knowledge and experience.
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New Jersey chief judge Wolfson joins law firm Lowenstein Sandler
